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Friday, July 10, 2009

Whip It Up Challenge-Alfredo Sauce and Parm Chicken

Here is this week's Whip It Up Challenge! If you don't remember reading earlier when I wrote about the Whip It Up Challenge...you can read it here! Basically, I am going to make a different recipe every week for 6 weeks that I have never made before and post about it. And I will always make sure to include pictures because 1. I love pictures and 2. I like to make food that I have seen a picture of!

This is the second week, but I didn't write as much about it last week because quite honestly, I was in a rush just to get it posted!

This week I made Fettuccine Alfredo with a homemade sauce and Parmesan Crusted Chicken. The Alfredo Sauce recipe was one my Grandpa gave me a while back. I don't know where he got it. The Parm Chicken recipe came from here. I decided on this because I HEART Alfredo sauce (but I usually pour it out of a jar) and Adam really likes the No Name Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, so I thought I would try my hand at it.

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain, rinse with hot water.Meanwhile, in Dutch Oven, melt margarine/butter.Stir in cream and pepper.Cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.Stir in Parmesan and cook on low heat until cheese is just melted, stirring constantly.Immediately stir in the cooked, hot fettuccine; toss to coat with sauce.Stir in parsley and nutmeg.Serve Immediately.(Note: If sauce begins to separate, stir in a bit more cream; cook over low heat until smooth)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.Prepare the chicken by halving and then halving again lengthwise. (Whole chicken breast are a bit too big. Making smaller pieces ensures that the coating will not burn before the chicken is cooked through.)Pound to about 1/2 inch thick.Blend the egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice with a fork in a wide, shallow dish; set aside. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and zest in a second wide, shallow dish.To crust the chicken breasts, dip each in the egg white mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Then transfer the chicken to a rack set over a baking sheet. Air-dry the chicken for 20-30 minutes to help set the crumbs.To cook, first saute the chicken on the stove in an ovenproof skillet. As you put the chicken in the pan, lay it towards you. This way each piece will rest on top of any crumbs that fall off. Saute until the chicken is golden and crisp on one side, then carefully flip the pieces over. Cook until golden.Finally, transfer the whole pan to a 450 degree oven to finish. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes in the oven.

The chicken air drying on the rack and the freshly tossed pasta and sauce.

The final product!

(You will notice the salad and dressing on the side is my Whip It Up recipe from last week!)

The Questions(The first three are part of the challenge and the others I am stealing from this blog! I like them!)

1. Was the recipe easy to follow?

Very. The steps were laid out step by step in an easy to follow fashion in both recipes.

2. Did the dish taste good?

Yup! I LOVED the Alfredo sauce because as I said above, I heart Alfredo sauce! I don't know about the chicken (see Adam's thoughts below)

3. Would you make it again?

Absolutely. The Alfredo sauce was super easy and the only thing is making sure I have whipping cream on hand when I want to do so.

4. Leftover quotient?

There is a TON of leftover chicken. I am trying to force it on Dad tonight, but he doesn't like to rock the leftovers. I'm going to give him my best "Please Daddy" look because I think he will really like it. Of course there is leftover pasta because it was a WHOLE box...but I will eat that quickly, no problem!

5. Any additions/edits to the recipe?

Chicken

-There was a ton of the breadcrumb mixture leftover. Maybe I could make it 1/4 smaller next time so as not to have so much waste.

-I thought it could have been more Parmesan-y and less bread crumb-y, but also, I am a bit in love with cheese. Maybe a little less on the breadcrumbs and more on the Parm next time.

Sauce

-I used a medium saucepan not a Dutch Oven

-I used a fresh grated Asiago/Parmesan combination I bought (and I put in a little extra!)

-I also added a little garlic powder to the finished sauce (because I love me some garlic)

6. Adam's thoughts?

He really liked both and said he would want them both again. He knows he has to be honest about meat because since I don't eat it I don't know if it is bad and if he doesn't tell me then he will keep getting it the rest of our lives! He said he really liked the chicken, which I was most worried about. I knew he would like the sauce!